There may be situations where it may be necessary for a user to demonstrate their identity to a printing device in order to obtain access to data held within a system or in the printing device itself. There may also be situations where it may be desirable for a user to demonstrate to a printing device or system that the user is located in proximity to the printing device or that the user has provided appropriate payment prior to a print being generated.
Accordingly, it may be necessary for a user to provide identification information or funds to a printing device. Identification and/or payment information may include information contained on a magnetic card, smart card, biometric device or manual input device. The user may present these items to an authentication device which may be connected to the printing device.